Getting the basics right!
This seems to be quite a hot topic for many technical B2B organisations. Getting the basics right! Techy people, like yourselves love technology. Seeing a vision for the beloved product is wonderful. However… the hardest thing for technical boffins is getting it out into the marketplace.
Here are some basic tips to get you started:
- Write each client or potential client onto a post it note.
- Group these clients/ potential clients into segments with ‘common’ needs and wants
- Assess them; what are the common problems in each group that these customers face and that my product fixes?
- With your target group; devise a message explaining how ‘your product’ will fix their problem
- Now what?
- Using different mediums send your message out ie post card, finding that specific group at an exhibition, submitting via twitter – this is very important and your message must be correct for that target audience
- Keep it building! Marketing only works if you keep it fed! The audience may have to see your message several times before it clicks. Keep up the work. If it were that easy everyone would do it! Develop your brand!
- Are you influencing? Use Klout.com or sproutsocial.com to monitor your efforts
- Keep an eye on your statistics coming into your website. This is proof that your marketing comms are working
- Feed your leads back to your sales team
- Sales people! Now you need to support your marketing team by ‘nurturing’ your leads. Depending on your industry it will take you 1 day to 12months or more.
- Develop a relationship – this is very very important
- See the results!